The Fall of Man
Hendrick Goltzius·1616
Historical Context
Hendrick Goltzius's Fall of Man, dated 1616, depicts Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden in one of the rare paintings from the final phase of this primarily graphic artist's career. Goltzius was the greatest Dutch engraver of the late sixteenth century, famous for his virtuoso Mannerist prints, before turning to painting around 1600. His paintings display the same technical brilliance and polished finish that characterized his engravings.
Technical Analysis
The oil on canvas shows Goltzius's characteristic smooth, polished surface and meticulous rendering of the human figure. The idealized nude forms of Adam and Eve, with their pearlescent flesh tones and elegant proportions, demonstrate his consummate draftsmanship translated from engraving to paint.
Provenance
Possibly Boudewijn de Man, Delft; (his sale, Delft, 15 March 1644, no. 2, as _Een Adam ende Eva_).[1] Possibly private collection, Amsterdam, 1671.[2] Probably (anonymous sale, Hubert and Dupuy at Salle des Grands-Augustins, Paris, 3 June 1774 and following days, no. 34, as _Adam & Eve_).[3] (Camillo Davico, Turin), before 1936; purchased 1936 by Prof. Mario Micheletti, Turin; acquired 1972 by private collection, Switzerland;[4] (sale, Christie, Manson & Woods, New York, 15 May 1996, no. 51); purchased by NGA. [1] Owners through 1774, and the accompanying footnotes documenting the sources, are taken from the 1996 Christie's sale catalogue. Boudewijn de Man's ownership of "Een Adam ende Eva van Goltius [florins] 110" is documented in Gemeente Archief Delft, Notary archive no. 1861, deed no. 2035. [2] Hendrik Houmes' annotation "een Adam en Eva op de cingel tot Amsterdam" is in a copy of van Mander's _Het Schilder-Boeck_, fol. 286 recto, preserved in the Rijksprentenkabinet, Amsterdam. [3] Lot 34 in this sale is described as "Adam & Eve de Goltius, Pouc. de haut 40". It therefore measured approximately 100 centimeters in height (the width was not recorded), and it sold for 49.7 francs. [4] The anonymous Swiss owner provided information about the ownership by Davico and Micheletti to Lawrence W. Nichols in a letter of 6 March 1984. See Lawrence Wells Nichols, "The Paintings of Hendrick Goltzius (1558-1617)," Ph.D. diss., Columbia University, 1990: 185.
